Amos 4:4-5

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel ¹  and rebel! ² 

At Gilgal ³  rebel some more!

Bring your sacrifices in ⁴  the morning,

your tithes on ⁵  the third day!

4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! ⁶ 

Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! ⁷ 

For you love to do this, you Israelites.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking!

Imamat 7:12-15

7:12 If he presents it on account of thanksgiving, ⁸  along with the thank offering sacrifice he must present unleavened loaves mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers smeared with olive oil, ⁹  and well soaked ¹⁰  ring-shaped loaves made of choice wheat flour ¹¹  mixed with olive oil. 7:13 He must present this grain offering ¹²  in addition to ring-shaped loaves of leavened bread which regularly accompany ¹³  the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offering. 7:14 He must present one of each kind of grain offering ¹⁴  as a contribution offering ¹⁵  to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offering. 7:15 The meat of his ¹⁶  thanksgiving peace offering must be eaten on the day of his offering; he must not set any of it aside until morning.

Mazmur 50:14

50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!

Repay your vows to the sovereign One! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 50:23

50:23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. ¹⁸ 

To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.” ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 107:21-22

107:21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ²⁰ 

107:22 Let them present thank offerings,

and loudly proclaim what he has done! ²¹ 

Mazmur 116:17

116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,

and call on the name of the Lord.

[4:4]  ¹ sn Bethel and Gilgal were important formal worship centers because of their importance in Israel’s history. Here the Lord ironically urges the people to visit these places so they can increase their sin against him. Their formal worship, because it was not accompanied by social justice, only made them more guilty in God’s sight by adding hypocrisy to their list of sins. Obviously, theirs was a twisted view of the Lord. They worshiped a god of their own creation in order to satisfy their religious impulses (see 4:5: “For you love to do this”). Note that none of the rituals listed in 4:4-5 have to do with sin.

[4:4]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:4]  ² tn The Hebrew word translated “rebel” (also in the following line) could very well refer here to Israel’s violations of their covenant with God (see also the term “crimes” in 1:3 [with note] and the phrase “covenant transgressions” in 2:4 [with note]; 3:14).

[4:4]  ³ sn See the note on Bethel earlier in this verse.

[4:4]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[4:5]  ⁶ sn For the background of the thank offering of bread made with yeast, see Lev 7:13.

[4:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “proclaim voluntary offerings, announce.”

[7:12]  ⁸ tn Or “for a thank offering.”

[7:12]  ⁹ tn See the notes on Lev 2:4.

[7:12]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on Lev 6:21 [6:14 HT].

[7:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “choice wheat flour well soaked ring-shaped loaves.” See the note on Lev 2:1.

[7:13]  ¹² tn The rendering “this [grain] offering” is more literally “his offering,” but it refers to the series of grain offerings listed just previously in v. 12.

[7:13]  ¹³ tn The words “which regularly accompany” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity.

[7:13]  sn The translation “[which regularly accompany]…” is based on the practice of bringing bread (and wine) to eat with the portions of the peace offering meat eaten by the priests and worshipers (see v. 14 and Num 15:1-13). This was in addition to the memorial portion of the unleavened bread that was offered to the Lord on the altar (cf. Lev 2:2, 9, and the note on 7:12).

[7:14]  ¹⁴ tn Here the Hebrew text reads “offering” (קָרְבָּן, qorbban), not “grain offering” (מִנְחָה, minkhah), but in this context the term refers once again to the list in 7:12.

[7:14]  ¹⁵ tn The term rendered “contribution offering” is תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah), which generally refers to that which is set aside from the offerings to the Lord as prebends for the officiating priests (cf. esp. Lev 7:28-34 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:335-37). Cf. TEV “as a special contribution.”

[7:15]  ¹⁶ tn In the verse “his” refers to the offerer.

[50:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[50:23]  ¹⁸ sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.

[50:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ (vÿsam derekh) to וְשֹׁמֵר דְּרָכַּי (vÿshomer dÿrakhay, “and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read וְשֹׁמֵר דַּרְכּוֹ (vÿshomer darko, “and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).

[107:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[107:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”